Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have always been known for their stylish and flashy image. The defending champions will display their greater than life character throughout the IPL 2026 season.

The RCB team bus has become a popular attraction for people to see. The franchise built its main design element through bold artwork which now functions as a public discussion point. The bus mural showed fans an unexpected detail because star player Virat Kohli did not appear on it. The public showed interest in this situation because they wanted to know whether the franchise had intentionally omitted their most important player.

We will investigate whether RCB removed Kohli from the team bus design which was used this season.

The new bus artwork of RCB became public through their announcement which took place before their second IPL 2026 match. The design centers on captain Rajat Patidar who celebrates his leadership after the title victory. He stands with his teammates who include Jitesh Sharma and Venkatesh Iyer and other players.

The fans immediately recognized Kohli's absence from the bus when they saw the reveal. The situation sparked a major debate because some fans believed RCB had chosen to leave out their most famous player.

The investigation shows that the initial explanation about the matter needs correction. The bus design includes Kohli because he appears in the complete artwork which shows him on the bus side that social media first released. The hidden bus design displays players who include Kohli and Josh Hazlewood and Tim David and Jacob Bethell and Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Krunal Pandya.

RCB started their IPL 2026 season with a strong victory against Sunrisers Hyderabad during their first match. Jacob Duffy executed an outstanding performance by capturing three wickets while conceding only 22 runs across four overs. The other bowlers failed to provide adequate assistance which enabled SRH to achieve a strong score of 201/9 throughout their 20 overs.

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Devdutt Padikkal scored 61 runs from 26 balls during the chase while Kohli achieved an unbeaten score of 69 runs from 38 balls. Captain Patidar also scored 31 runs from 12 balls which enabled RCB to complete their target chase within 15.4 overs while losing only six wickets.

Patidar will lead RCB into their next match against Chennai Super Kings who currently face difficulties after already winning one match. The game will take place at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday, April 5. RCB needs another victory at this stage to increase their momentum while they aim to defend their title successfully this season.